Insect collecting machine



Nov. 1, 1955 J. L. NISBET ET AL INSECT COLLECTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed NOV. 10, 1952 INVENTORS OEQMM ATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1955 J. L. NISBETET AL 2,722,082

INSECT COLLECTING MACHINE Filed NOV. 10, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORSATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1955 .1. N IS BET ETAL INSECT COLLECTING MACHINE 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 10, 1952 ATTORNEY United States Patent INSECTCOLLECTING MACHINE John Lee Nisbet and Vaun L. Johansen, San Angelo,Tex. Application November 10, 1952, Serial No. 319,678

8 Claims. (Cl. 43141) The invention relates to improvements in insectcollecting machines of the general type shown in Patent No. 2,346,270,granted April 11, 1944, to A. R. Nisbet, wherein a blower equipped witha downwardly projecting outlet pipe having one or more discharge nozzlesis carried by a frame secured at the forward end of a farm tractor, andin passing through a field of cotton or other vegetation infested withbugs, insects, or the like, a blast from the blower serves to forciblyremove the bugs, insects or the like from the plants and deposit them inone or more conduit means having inlet portions directly opposite theair blast outlet or outlets, from which point the insects are conveyedby the force of the air blast through the conduit means into aforaminous bag or container secured at the outlet end of the conduit.

In accordance with the disclosure of the aforesaid patent it will benoted that the air blast employed is a projected outwardly through anozzle or slot which is narrow horizontally and long vertically. Theheight of the slot is largely determined by the height of the insectinfested plants, while the narrow width of the slot is essential inorder to concentrate the blast and insure the removal of the insectsfrom the plants as the machine is driven through the insect infestedfield. It has been found in practice in connection with machines such asdisclosed in Patent No. 2,346,270 that a difiicult problem exists indeflecting the long narrow vertical air blast upwardly through thereceiving conduit or conduits, the difficulty being accentuatedas theheight of the slot and theforce of the blast are increased. For thisreason the height of the discharge outlet has been limited in practice,and the effectiveness of the bug catcher was proportionately limited. Inorder to turn or deflect this blast upwardly, as described in the abovepatent and in the machine embodying the invention, it has been found tobe very difficult to carry a wide enough swing from the mouth of thereceiving chute between the mouth of the receiving chute and the nextrow to turn the blast up, or edgewise, effectively. Thus there has beenimposed a definite limitation in the height of the air blast, due to thelimitation of the desired curve to turn the blast upward effectivelybetween the rows.

One of the objects of the present invention is accordingly to overcomethis difiiculty so that the vertical dimension of the discharge slot maybe as great as conditions in the particular field require. This isaccomplished according to the present invention by first curving theinlet portion of the receiving chute side-wise or back wardas viewed ina horizontal plane, without reducing the vertical dimension of thereceiving area and then deflecting the conduit upwardly as viewed in thevertical plane. After bending or turning this blast sidewise orbackwards between the rows and parallel to the rows there is ample roomto make a very effective turn upward; in fact a much more effective onethan can be attained otherwise, with the result that there is nowprovided a receiving chute in which a much taller air blast, or nozzle,can be used than was previously possible, and

a much better reception in the receiving chute of the insects isobtained, and thereby such insects are deposited in the bags to a muchhigher degree of effectiveness than could be obtained under the formerconstruction as set forth in Patent No. 2,346,270.

In the old machine, in order to turn the air and get it to follow thereceiving chute it has been necessary to leave the receiving chute andbagging chute open on the inside of the curves, while with the newreceiving chute the reception of air blast and insects is so excellentthat we now have screened the inside curves of the receiving chute.

The former machine receiving chute and bagging chute merely consisted ofan outer curved Wall, with sides, but with the inner or inside curvesbeing left open. The present receiving chute not only has the outsidewall or curved wall and side walls but the inside is also inclosed witha screen. This is made possible by simply first turning, or bending, theair blast flatwise instead of edgewise. After the first bend flatwisethen by having ample room it is turned edgewise and upward to the bag.

It has also been found that the mode of mounting the insect collectingelements upon the carrier vehicle as disclosed in Patent No. 2,346,270is in some respects unsatisfactory. Thus in such machines the fanhousing is rigidly mounted on a fixed frame carried by the tractor whilethe nozzle and deflecting chutes are adjustably mounted with referencethereto, such mounting including sliding and telescopic relation of someof the parts. It will accordingly be apparent that any bending ordistortion of the various parts renders the adjustment featureinoperative. This is particularly noticeable in connection with two-rowand four-row machines.

Thus in accordance with Patent No. 2,346,270 the fan housing is mountedhigh on the tractor, rigid and stationary. The lower section, whichincludes the nozzles and receiving chute, is raised and lowered with alever or other mechanism and, of course, is done so through a slidingand telescoping action of the connecting parts between the fan housingand nozzles. It will be apparent that with this type of construction anybending or distortion of the various parts would render it inoperativeinsofar as raising or lowering is concerned. This feature has beenparticularly objectionable on both the two-row and four-row machines,and the troubles have been multiplied by the cube in the four-rowmachine as compared with the two-row machine. The reason for this willbe more apparent from the following discussion. Thus in a row croptractor on which the bug catcher is mounted the rear wheels which carryand control the sway or side movement of the tractor itself may be setfor various row Widths, but may be assumed to be approximately eightyinches apart. The front end of the tractor is carried on a single wheel,or a pair of wheels, which merely carry the load but, of course, havenothing to do with the rock or side tilt of the tractor. With the bugcatcher mounted out in front of the tractor, which is some ten feet infront of the two rear Wheels which control the motion above described,and with the outer extremity of the receiving chutes of the bug catcherwider than the rear wheels, it will be apparent that in travelingforward, if the left rear wheel passes over a high point on the groundthe right extremity of the bug catcher would be dipped into the ground,which, of course, would tend to bend and damage the machine.

Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to eliminatethese disadvantages by mounting the fan housing, blast discharge nozzlesand receiving conduits on a pivoted frame which may be adjusted asdesired.

The new pivotal mounting of the bug catcher carrying frame has beenfound to eliminate the disadvantages referred to above.

In accordance with our invention there are mounted at the front of thetractor what we call pivot posts. In a particular case on a four-rowmachine the pivot posts may set fifty inches apart, or twenty-fiveinches each way from the center, the lower pivot being thirty-six inchesfrom the ground and the upper pivot twenty-three inches above that. In aperpendicular line with these pivot points we mount the countershaftwhich is turned by a belt from the tractor drive pulley. The pivotpoints on the bug catcher are spaced to correspond with the points onthe pivot posts and the fan shaft is mounted in a perpendicular linewith the pivot points on the bug catcher. The bug catcher is built allin one assembly or unit and all parts are raised and lowered together.As the unit is raised and lowered the belt pulley centers do not varydue to their mounting, as described above.

For the connecting links between the tractor pivot posts and the bugcatcher are four connecting links or adjustable push bars, which areemployed to provide adjustment for the drive belt. On the two upper pushbars a bell crank is provided to which the power lift is connected forraising and lowering the bug catcher, and with this particular type ofmounting the bug catcher is easily raised and lowered from the ground tothirty inches from the ground, providing ample height for getting overrough terrain and turning. To further provide a much more flexible andeasy handling of the machine for running close to the ground and foreasy lifts, we have provided lifting springs which carry practically allof the bug catcher weight, leaving very little for the power lift to doin raising and lowering. By virtue of having these lifting springs andpivot mountings the bug catcher itself is easily tilted. Thus, insteadof being positively controlled by the action of the rear wheels the bugcatcher practically floats on the front end of the tractor-enough sothat with this six hundred pound machine an operator can easily swingone end up or down with one hand and with very little effort.

Gauge wheels are preferably provided at the outer end of the bugcatcher. These wheels are adjustable up and down sufliciently to permitthe machine to be used practically on the surface of the ground, or canbe varied from the particular point. As the tractor travels forward therear wheels runnings over high places or dipping in low places do notforce one side or other of the bug catcher into the ground, as with theformer construction. Irrespective of side tilt of the tractor the gaugewheels at the outer extremities of the bug catcher maintain it levelwith the terrain, and in case the bug catcher approaches a high point itis lifted over this by the gauge wheels.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the accompanyingdrawing and the following detailed description, which are intended asillustrative rather than as limiting the invention to the particularstructure herein disclosed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the improved bug catcher mechanismadjustably mounted at the front end of a farm tractor of conventionaldesign;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1 zhowing the blastdischarge nozzles and the receiving conuits;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the blast discharge nozzles andreceiving conduits of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the assembly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral denotes a tractor bodywhich may be of any well nown type, the body being supported on rearwheels 11 and equipped with an operators seat 12. A front wheel isindicated at 13 which is pivoted in the usual manner for steeringpurposes. Instead of a single wheel, a pair of wheels may be employed asis well known in the art.

At the front of the tractor is a fixed, rigid transverse angle iron orframe member 14, the ends of which extend laterally beyond the body 10of the tractor. Near the ends of this angle iron 14 are mounted a pairof upright pivot posts 15 rigidly connected at their upper ends to asecond angle iron 16 which in turn is secured by means of rearwardlyextending inclined brace members 17 to the body of the tractor.

Pivotally mounted at their rear ends to the pivot posts 15 are two pairsof adjustable connecting links or push bars 20 and 21 which are adaptedto carry at their forward ends a vertically movable bug catchingassembly or unit designated generally by the reference numeral 30. Thisassembly includes a bug catcher carrying frame and bug catcher elementscarried thereby which will be hereinafter more fully described. The bugcatcher assembly is adapted to be raised or lowered as a unit tofacilitate passage over rough terrain and to permit turning of thecarrier vehicle.

Preferably the weight of the bug catching assembly is largelycounterbalanced by suitable means, herein shown as comprising a pair ofsprings 35, 35 connected at their upper ends to the opposite ends of therigid cross bar 16 connecting the upper ends of pivot posts 15. Thesesprings are connected at their lower ends to the lower pivoted links orpush bars 20 which support the bug catcher assembly at a pointsubstantially in advance of their pivotal connections with the uprightpost 15.

Any suitable means, either manual or power actuated, may be employed forraising and lowering the bug catcher assembly, but where the weight ofthe assembly is largely counterbalanced as by the springs 35, 35 asherein disclosed, only a slight lift is required. As herein shown arms36, 36 are rigidly attached to the two upper links 21, 21 and areemployed for raising and lowering the bug catcher assembly. These armsare preferably actuated by the power lift mechanism of the tractorthrough connections and 111, but may be manually actuated if desired.

In a four-row assembly such as herein illustrated a pair of blower fans40, 40 are employed which are suitably mounted in spaced relation on thebug catcher carrying frame and as shown are provided with a common fanshaft 41 driven by means of a pulley 42 through a belt 43 from a rearpulley 44.

As shown, the pulley 44 is mounted on a transverse shaft 45 mounted inbearings carried by the upright posts 15, 15. The shaft 45 is providedwith a pulley 46 turned by a belt 47 actuated from the drive pulley 48of the tractor.

It will be noted that the lower and upper pivoted links 20 and 21 areparallel with each other and also that the drive shaft 45, and the rearpivot points 100, 101 where the links 20, 21 are respectively connectedto the posts 15 are in substantially vertical alignment with each otherand similarly the front pivot 102, 103 of the links 20, 21 where they.connect to the bug catcher carrying frame are in substantially verticalalignment with each other and with the fan shaft 41. Thus aparallelogram is provided including the links 20 and 21 and alignedpivot points and shafts, permitting raising and lowering the bug catcherassembly without interfering with the operation of the blower fans asthey are being driven from the power pulley of the tractor.

As shown the bug catcher carrying frame includes a front transverseangle iron 120, the base of which serves to support the collecting bagsof the bug catcher assembly, and upper and lower rear transverse angleirons or bars 121, 122 respectively. As shown the top flange of thelower angle iron 122 is level with the floor of the front angle bar 120,and a series of pairs of parallel longitudinal bars 123, 123 aresupported by the transverse barsv and.122, and extend rearwardlytherefrom a substantial distance to rigidly support the receivingelements of the bug catcher assembly.

Secured to the vertical portion 124 of the front angle bar 120 andextending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom are a series of inclinedsupported frame members 125, to the inner pair of which the front endsof the upper lifting links 21 are pivotally attached, while rigidlysecured to certain of the horizontal longitudinal frame members 123 area pair of vertical frame members 126 which support at their upper endsthe transverse fan shaft 41. Short vertical connecting members 127extend below the transverse angle iron 120 and provide means forattachment of the lower lifting bars 20. Longitudinal bars 127' or framemembers extend rearwardly from the inclined members 125 and serve tobrace the vertical members 126. Upright members or posts 128 extend fromthe rear ends of the longitudinal frame members 127 to transverse bars121 and provide rigid supports therefor. The rear ends of the inclinedmembers 125 are secured to the upright members 128. Other braces,members and the like may be included in the bug catcher frame. Suitablemeans may be provided for limiting the upward movement of the bugcatcher assembly with reference to the carrier vehicle.

At the front end of the bug catcher assembly there are preferablyprovided gauge wheels 50, which are secured to the main frame of the bugcatcher assembly by means of gauge wheel frame members 51 and 52. Thesewheels are adjustable up and down sufliciently to permit the machine tobe used practically at the ground or at any desired level. forward andthe rear wheels run over high places or dip into low places suchoperation does not force one side or the other of the bug catcher intothe ground. Irrespective of the side tilt of the tractor the gaugewheels at the outer extremity of the bug catcher maintain the devicelevel with the terrain and similarly as the bug catcher approaches ahigh point it is lifted over this by the gauge wheels.

The blower fans 40 are suitably supported on the main bug catcher frame.These fans may be of the Sirroco type and are preferably dished as at 60on the intake side only. Each fan discharges downwardly through avertical conduit 62 which is provided at its lower portion with a pairof laterally extending nozzle portions 63, 63 having converging sidewalls 64, 64 and narrow vertical elongated outlet openings 65 througheach of which an air blast is adapted to be directed into the inletportion 70 of a corresponding receiving chute 71 which leads to aforaminous bag or container 72. Such bag retains the bugs collected bythe blast while allowing air to pass through the pores or openings inthe bag. As shown in Fig. 2 there are two receiving conduits or chutes71 for each blower fan 40, or a total of four for a rig which isdesigned to service four rows of growing plants at a time, thoughobviously the number may be increased or decreased as desired withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention in its'broadest aspects.Preferably the upper end of each receiving chute 71 is outwardly anddownwardly curved as indicated at 73 and the bags 72, which aredetachably secured to the ends 74 of the curved portions 73, are adaptedto rest upon the broad base of the angle iron frame member or platform120 carried at the front of the assembly. In this position the bags arereadily accessible and may be removed by the vehicle operator or otherattendant when filled with bugs or the like. The structure and curvatureof the inlet portions of the receiving chute 71 are important featuresof the present invention and when such inlet portions are properlyshaped and proportioned they will be found to receive the long andnarrow air blasts emerging from the nozzle openings 63 and deflect themfirst laterally and then upwardly into the receiving chutes, from whichthe blasts and the bugs or the like carried thereby pass to thecollecting bags 72.

Thus, as the tractor travels,

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings it will be notedthat the inlet portion of each receiving chute comprises an enlargedcurved head having a rectangular mouth portion 91 whose height is atleast as great as that of the nozzle outlet slot 65, but of much greaterwidth. As shown, the top 92 of the head is substantially flat andhorizontal and the outer edge 93 thereof is smoothly curved in ahorizontal plane, which curve extends from the side 94 of the mouthopening to the juncture of the head portion with the curved neck portion95 which leads 'to the straight vertical portion 96 of the receivingchute or conduit 71. The curved edge 93 of the top 92 of the receivinghead 90 also forms the upper edge of a correspondingly curved outer wall100 which serves to laterally deflect the vertical air blast enteringfrom the nozzle slot 65 and direct it into the aforementioned upwardlycurved neck portion 95.

The invention has been described in detail for the purpose ofillustration, but it will be obvious that numerous modifications andvariations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

We claim:

1. In a vehicle carried bug catcher assembly wherein the assembly iscarried at the front of a carrier vehicle and includes a blower fanhaving a downwardly directed blower conduit provided with a verticallyelongated outlet nozzle discharging in a direction transverse to thedirection of movement of the carrier vehicle, and a receiving chutedischarging into a foraminous bag supported upon the carrier vehicle andhaving its inlet facing directly toward the nozzle outlet; theimprovement wherein the inlet of the chute comprises a head having anupwardly curved neck portion, said head having a wall opposite the inletwhich is outwardly curved to initially deflect the incoming blast fromthe outlet nozzle laterally prior to its delivery to the upwardly curvedneck .portion.

2. In an ambulant bug collecting machine including a blower fan having adownwardly directed blower conduit provided with a nozzle having avertically elongated outlet discharging in a direction transverse to thedirection of movement of the machine, and a receiving chute discharginginto a suitable receptacle supported upon the machine, said chute havingits inlet portion facing directly toward the nozzle outlet; theimprovement wherein the inlet portion of the chute comprises an inlethead having a mouth portion the height of which is at least equal to theheight of the outlet nozzle and the width of which is substantiallygreater than the width of the outlet nozzle, the head having an upwardlycurved neck portion leading toward the receptacle, said head having awall opposite the mouth opening which is outwardly curved to initiallydeflect the incoming blast from the blower nozzle laterally prior to itsdelivery to the upwardly curved neck portion.

3. A bug catcher assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein the blowerconduit includes a pair of oppositely directed outlet nozzles eachcommunicating with the inlet head of a receiving chute.

4. The combination of a carrier vehicle and a bug catcher assemblycarried thereby as set forth in claim 2, including means for mountingthe bug catcher assembly as a whole at the front of the carrier vehiclefor vertical swinging movement with reference thereto.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 including spring means forcounterbalancing in part at least the weight of the assembly.

6. An ambulant bug collecting machine comprising a carrier vehicle, afixed frame mounted at the front of the vehicle including a pair ofupright posts, a unitary bug catching assembly having a bug catchercarrying frame and including pneumatic bug catching means and receptaclemeans mounted on the bug catcher carrying frame, connecting meansbetween the frames including vertically spaced pairs of parallel links,each link pivoted at one end to one of the upright posts of the fixedframe of the vehicle, and at the other end to the bug catcher carryingframe, for pivotally mounting the assembly at the frontv of the vehicle,and means operable from the carrier vehicle and engaging said connectingmeans for swinging the assembly as a whole in a vertical plane withreference to the carrier vehicle.

7. A bug collecting machine as set forth in claim 6, wherein thepneumatic bug catching means includes a fan carried by the bug. catchercarrier frame, and driving means for the fan comprising a driving pulleymounted on a transverse shaft carried by the fixed frame, belt meansconnecting the driving pulley with the fan shaft, and actuating meansfor said driving pulley carried by the carrier vehicle.

8. A bug collecting machine as set forth in claim 6, wherein springs areprovided connected at one end to the upper portion of the upright posts,and at their lower portion to the connecting links at points spaced fromtheir connection to the upright posts, said springs serving tocounterbalance in part at least, the weight of the bug catchingassembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS886,535 McCurdy et a1 May 5, 1908 931,440 Lindahl Aug. 17, 19091,250,516 Salter Dec. 18, 1917 1,489,214 Hickman Apr. 1, 1924 1,731,826Morava Oct. 15, 1929 2,346,270 Nisbet Apr. 11, 1944 2,370,914 Rasmussenet a1 Mar. 6, 1945

